Summer Funding
Many GW Law students choose to perform public interest legal work during the summer. In order to make this choice more financially feasible, the Law School and other organizations provide summer subsidies.
The Law School awards approximately $295,000 in the form of cash grants and tutition remission to law students who will engage in summer public interest work. Students are able to submit applications for the subsidies after receiving an offer of summer employment from a non-profit or government employer. Awardess can serve is organizations in Washington, DC, as well as around the country and abroad. Students who receive one of these stipends may also be able to receive academic credit for their public interest work through the law school's Outside Placement Program.
In addition, the Law School's student-run Equal Justice Foundation (EJF) holds an auction each spring that funds summer public interest grants. Applications for summer EJF grants are available early spring semester. Applications are due in early April following the auction.
Sources outside the law school provide funding as well. These funding sources have deadlines throughout the spring semester. If you have questions, contact the Career Development Office's Public Interest Advisor, Tamara Dévieux-Adams, at tdadams@law.gwu.edu.
Summer 2012 Public Interest Subsidies Application
Third-Year Fellowships
GW Law's J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Public Service Fellowship Program annually provides financial aid for third-year students (and evening students who have completed at least 56 credits) who agree to work 20 hours per week at public interest organizations in the Washington, DC area during the fall and spring semesters.
Awardees may receive as much as $15,000 in tuition remission, and they are also eligible to receive up to four academic credits during the semester for their work experience through the Outside Placement Program. Preference is given to employers who represent, directly or indirectly, indigent individuals or populations, interests that would not otherwise be adequately represented, and environmental organizations.
Loan Repayment Assistance Program
The Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) is designed to help alleviate the financial burdens of GW Law's recent graduates (1990 and later) who pursue public interest employment. The LRAP assists recent graduates by providing "forgiveable" loans to those whose annual income - after taking into consideration their annual law school loan payments - falls below a certain target income. LRAP payments are made in two installments each year, in six-month intervals (typically in July and January). New graduates who do not begin loan repayment until December/January will receive only the second installment.
The application deadline for 2012-2013 is May 29, 2012. After this date, applications will be considered on a rolling basis. If you have any questions, contact Professor Suzanne Jackson at sjackson@law.gwu.edu or 202.994.6142.
Intitial Application
Continuation Application
Loan Information Sheet
Employer Certification Form
LRAP Program Description and Application Instructions